Fluid intake intercepting assemblies



April 15, 1958 F. w. SONNETT FLUID INTAKE INTERCEPTING ASSEMBLIES Filed April 25, 1955 PATENT ATTORNEYS nitcd States Patent FLUID INTAKE INTERCEPTING ASSEMBLIES Frederick W. Sonnett, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Application April 25, 1955, Serial No. 503,560

2 Claims. (Cl. 215-22) My invention relates to new and useful improvements in fluid intake intercepting assemblies, the principal object and essence of my invention being to provide a device of thecharacter herewithin described which is designed for scalable insertion into the necks of bottles whereby it becomes impossible to refill the bottles.

Another object of my invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described in which it becomes virtually impossible to interfere with the intercepting element by the introduction of flexible wire or the like into the pouring aperture thereof.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described which includes means whereby the air lock sometimes occurring between a float and the valve seat, is broken immediately the bottle is tipped into the pouring position, thereby overcoming many of the disadvantages of existing devices.

Yet another object of my invention is to provide a device of the characer herewithin described which is simple in construction, economical in manufacture, and otherwise well suited to the purpose for which it is designed.

With the foregoing objects in view, and such other objects and advantages as will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates as this specification proceeds, my invention consists essentially in the arrangement and construction of parts all as'hereinafter more particularly described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1. is a vertical section of my device.

Figure 2 is an exploded view in side elevation of my device.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary vertical section of the lower portion of my device showing one method whereby the device may be attached to the neck of a bottle.

Figure 4 is a full cross sectional view of my device taken substantially along the lines 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the baflle per se.

Figure 6 is an underside view of the float per se.

In the drawings'like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

It is well known that manufacturers of widely advertised branded bottled fluids such as sauces, liquors and the like frequently suffer from the refilling of their bottles with fluid other than that entitled to bear the trademark or name. This practice is particularly to be met with in bars, restaurants and the like, together with another undesirable practice of adulteration of fluids either by water or by other fluids of an inferior quality.

Many attempts have been made in the past to provide fluid intercepting assemblies which may be sealably attached to the bottle, but the majority of them can be circumvented by the method of vacuum filling. Most of the assemblies rely on a gravity operated plunger or the like which permits liquid to be discharged from the bottle when the bottle is partially or fully inverted. Consequeutly by creating a partial vacuum within the empty bottle, by means of immersing same within boiling water, or the like, it is possible to refill the bottle in the inverted position by immersing the neck thereof in the liquid with which it is desired to fill the bottle, whereupon the normal cooling process contracts the air remaining within, thus forming a partial vacuum which draws the fluid up into the bottle.

My invention overcomes these disadvantages as will hereinafter become apparent, and proceeding therefore to describe my invention in detail it will be seen upon reference to the accompanying drawings that I have provided a substantially cylindrical body portion 1, surmounted by a pouring neck portion 2 and having a portion 3 at the lower end thereof by which the assembly can be secured within the neck 4 of an associated bottle 5. Although the portions 1, 2 and 3 are shown formed separately, it will be appreciated that any method of construction can be used, providing the necessary components can be placed within the body portion and sealed therein. In this particular embodiment, the junctions between the body portion 1 and the portions 2 and 3 are sealed against displacement by any suitable means, and as it is preferred that the entire device, with the exception of one or two components hereinafter specifically referred to, be made of plastic, these junctions can readily be sealed either by the application of heat or suitable cement both of which methods are conventional.

The description following insofar as it relates to the structure of the device will use terminology referring to the device in the upright position as shown in Figure l. The device is secured into the bottle neck 4, after the various components have been placed within the body portion, and one means to secure the device into the neck is shown in Figure 3.

The outer surface 6 of the neck is provided with serrations or rings 7 in the manufacture thereof and a metallic skirt 8 is moulded within the wall 9 of theportion 3 of the assembly. The portion 3, which is cylindrical, is of a dimension suflicient to fit snugly within the bottle neck with the skirt 8 surrounding the outer surface or wall 6 of the bottle neck, whereupon mechanical pressure is applied to the skirt which forces it to take up the contour of the rings or serrations, thus locking the assembly firmly upon and within the neck of the bottle.

Within this portion 3 of the assembly I provide a float collectively designated it), this float including a stem 11 having radial extending flanges 12 formed thereon and these flanges act as bearers for the float within the portion 3 as said float moves endwige therewithin. The areas l3 between adjacent flanges 12 provide clearance between the stem 11 and the inner wall 14 of the portion 3, and permit liquid to pass from the bottle neck through the portion 3.

A head 15 is secured or formed upon the upper end 16 of the stem 11, a flanged shoulder 17 separating the head from the stem. This flanged shoulder acts as a valve closure means and is adapted to engage the upper surface 18 of the portion 3, said upper surface act ng as a valve seat so that when the float is in the position shown in Figure 1, it seals off the bottle neck from the body portion 1 of the assembly and prevents liquid being poured Within the bottle through the pouring portion 2. Although the float stem is manufactured of plastic, it may be desirable that the head 15 be of cork or some other buoyant material suflicient to permit the float to rise under certain circumstances, but not having sufficient floatation to prevent liquid flowing in the direction of arrow 18 from displacing the float from the valve seat. In this connection of course it is assumed that the bottle has been tilted.

Baffle means collectively designated 19 span the body portion above the valve seating 18 and, in this embodiment, the baffle takes the form of an inverted hollow frusto-conical component closed at the upper end 20 thereof. The lower perimeter 21 of the baifle is relieved as at 22, thus forming 4 flanges 23 which are bent outwardly at the tips thereof, and engage between the portions 1 and 2, which thus hold the'baifle in position and at the same time permit liquid to flow from the body portion 1 to the pouring portion 2 via apertures 24 formed by the relieved portions 22 and the inner wall 25 of the portion 2.

The inner wall 25 of the portion 2 inclines inwardly and upwardly as clearly shown, terminating in the noun ing spout 26 so that it will be seen that it is extremely diflicult for an operator to insert a flexible wire through the pouring spout, past the batfle, in order to interfere with the float 10.

Further means are provided to hold the float upon the valve seating 18 when in the position shown in Figure 1, taking the form of a steel ball 27 freely located between the baflle 19 and the float head 15 within the body portion 1, and when in the position shown in Figure 1, it

will be seen that this ball rests upon the head, the weight of the ball also preventing interference occurring thereto.

When the bottle neck 4 is tilted downwardly from the horizontal, the ball 27 moves into the baflle 19 rolling down the conical inner surface thereof taking up the position shown in phantom in Figure 1. This permits liquid flowing from the bottle in direction of arrow 18' to lift the float from its seating, thus permitting the liquid to flow past the float stem, through the aperture 28 in the portion 3 and into the body portion 1. From there it passes the batfle 19 via the apertures 24 and pours from the spout 26. In this connection it is quite common for an air lock to occur between the valve closure means 17 and the valve seat 18 which takes considerable effort to dislodge, and I overcome this common fault by providing a relatively small magnet 29 within the float head 15, and preferably concentrically located therewithin. As soon as the steel ball 27 moves from the float head when the bottle is tipped, the relatively weak magnetic attraction between the magnet and the ball is suflicient to displace the float head slightly, thus breaking the seal or air lock at the valve seat 18, whereupon the liquid can commence to flow therepast.

If attempts are made to re-introduce liquid into the bottle with the bottle neck inclined below the horizontal, the floatation properties of the float 10 cause same to move in a direction opposite to arrow 18 and close off the valve seating 18, thus preventing liquid from being introduced under any circumstances.

In this connection it will be appreciated that the magspirit and scope of the claims without departing from such spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. A fluid intake intercepting assembly for bottles adapted to be inserted within the neck of said bottle, said assembly comprising in combination a substantially cylindrical body portion, means on one end of said body portion adapted to secure said assembly into the neck or" an associated bottle, an cnd-shiftable float within said body portion, valve closure means on said float, a valve seat within said body portion engageable by said valve closure means when said bottle is in the non-operating position, said valve closure means and said valve seat cooperating to close ofl said bottle neck from the portion of said body portion above said valve seat, a pouring aperture in said body portion above said valve seat, a baflle spanning said body portion above said valve seat and adapted to permit liquid to flow therepast, a gravitymovable means between said battle and said float adapted on the one hand to close said float on to said valve seat when said bottle neck is inclined upwardly above the horizontal, and on the other hand to permit said float to open said valve means when said bottle neck is inclined downwardly from the horizontal, and further means associated with said gravity-movable means and said float adapted to break the air lock existing between said valve closure means and said valve seating, when said bottle neck is inclined downwardly from the horizontal, further means associated with said gravity-rnovable means and said float includes a relatively small magnet with-in the head of said float, said magnet and said gravity-movable means having mutual attraction, thereby initiating the movement of said float when said gravitymovable means moves away from said float, said float comprising a substantially cylindrical stem portion, a head portion upon the end of said stem portion, said valve closure means taking the form of a flange between said head portion and said stem portion, said stem portion including a plurality of radially extending shoulders, said shoulders acting as bearing means for said float within said body portion.

2. The device according to claim 1 in which said baflle means takes the form of an inverted hollow frusto-conical component closed at the upper end thereof, the perimetrical base of said component being relieved at intervals therearound thereby forming a plurality of flanged portions, said flanged portions spanning said body portion, said relieved portions permitting liquid to flow thereby.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,133,758 Taheny Oct. 18, 1938 2,230,117 Lueck Ian. 28, 1941 2,268,497 Jesnig Dec. 30, 1941 2,278,924 Greene et al. Apr. 7, 1942 2,579,460 Archidiacano Dec. 25, 1951 2,693,933 Meinke Nov. 9, 1954 

